So, I posted about my paperback/review exchange at 2:30am before I passed out for the night, and by the time I checked the next morning, all 23 paperbacks were taken, and then some. Which led to this happening after running to the store to get packaging supplies:

It might not seem like it’d take that long to package 23 books (+ 14 swag packs that my street team has been waiting ages for!), but believe me when I tell you, it took several hours later to get to this point….

I had started early in the day…it was around 1pm or so, but by the time I was finished it was late in the evening. I didn’t even stop to eat lunch or dinner. By the time I was done, it was 6:30pm, possibly 7pm. The post office closes at 4:30 in my town, so I was forced to wait until the next day to ship that huge haul out. But the next day did indeed come, and I was reminded just how much it costs to ship things by receiving this little receipt in exchange:

That was not the most fun part about this entire thing…I had customers grumbling behind me in line, and I’m sure the post office employee who had to ring all those up now hates my guts. But you know what? My readers are worth it. I’m so grateful to every single one of them, and they make all the hard work, pain, tears, sweat, and blood worth it! This is the reason I write: I do it because I love telling the stories I dream about to other people, and I especially love when they tell me how much they meant to them in return. And if that means spending hundreds of dollars, a half day’s worth of time, and the risk of getting pummeled by angry post office-going customers to get those reviews, then so be it!

If you love to read, please remember to leave reviews for your favorite authors…it really is the only thing we ask for in return!

THANK YOU!!! <3